ProStars
Encyclopedia
ProStars was a Saturday morning cartoon
show produced by DiC
that aired on NBC
from September 14 to December 7, 1991.
, the show centers on Michael Jordan
, Bo Jackson
and Wayne Gretzky
fighting crime and helping children, often protecting the environment as well. These three were chosen to represent the pinnacle of all four major American professional sports in the early 1990s. While Jordan and Gretzky are broadly associated with their respective sports, Jackson was included since he could represent both football
and baseball
and was a high-profile celebrity off the field as well. A reference to his "Bo Knows
" Nike
ad-campaign was worked into almost every episode.
", by the rock group, Queen
(see links below). In later episodes, the song was slowed down, and the chorus was reduced to 'ProStars! Show staaaars! The lyrics also reference the "Bo Knows
" ad campaign, including the line "Bo knows everything."
from a child explaining the situation, such as a little boy from an island in the South Seas who said his village's treasures were being stolen by Short John Silver. Most of the villains were standard cartoon fare and had often done villainous acts akin to cartoons of the early 1990s (such as Captain Planet
and Free Willy
), namely environmental irresponsibility such as strip mining, coastal pollution, or deforestation of the rainforest
.
Other times a villain might hold a child for ransom, such as a mad scientist
named Dr. Lobe who demanded the ProStars play his line of robot athletes in order to release a little girl he kidnapped. Episodes also touched upon kids in gangs, where an Australian village is being held captive by Gargantus' motorcycle gang and a little girl's brother joins the gang thinking they are macho to which Michael Jordan tells the little girl she cannot stop having faith or love in her brother. One episode dealt with the larceny
of the Stanley Cup
committed by Clockwork Delaronge (which is a personal issue for Wayne Gretzky as his name is carved on it four times) and he tells kids of the history and prestige of the award.
Saturday morning cartoon
A Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the animated television programming that has typically been scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American television networks from the 1960s to the present; the genre's peak in popularity mostly ended in the 1990s while the popularity of...
show produced by DiC
DiC Entertainment
DIC Entertainment was an international film and television production company. In addition to animated television shows such as Ulysses 31 , Inspector Gadget , The Littles , The Real Ghostbusters , Captain Planet and the Planeteers , and the first two seasons of the English adaptation of...
that aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
from September 14 to December 7, 1991.
Synopsis
Originally intended to air on ESPNESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, the show centers on Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
, Bo Jackson
Bo Jackson
Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson is a former American baseball and football player. He was the first athlete to be named an All-Star in two major American sports, and also won the Heisman Trophy in 1985....
and Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
fighting crime and helping children, often protecting the environment as well. These three were chosen to represent the pinnacle of all four major American professional sports in the early 1990s. While Jordan and Gretzky are broadly associated with their respective sports, Jackson was included since he could represent both football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and was a high-profile celebrity off the field as well. A reference to his "Bo Knows
Bo Knows
"Bo Knows" was an advertising campaign for Nike cross-training shoes that ran in 1989 and 1990 and featured professional baseball and American football player Bo Jackson....
" Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
ad-campaign was worked into almost every episode.
Live-action sequences
The stars appear in live-action sequences before the show, in which they would tell kids about the upcoming episode, and often answer questions from kids at the conclusion. Normally this is done solely by Gretzky and Jackson—often in separate sound stages and edited to appear as if talking to each other. Jordan's filmed bits were almost always one line or two, and not part of the skits before the episode. Most of the live-action parts by the athletes dealt with things such as morality. In one episode they explained ghosts stating that even they get scared sometimes, and that fear is a normal human emotion. In an episode with robot athletes, they explained how such an idea will never come to reality, as it goes against the dedication men put into their sport. However, during the animated segments of ProStars, their animated counterparts were voiced by voice actors instead of their actual selves.Theme music
When the show first came out, the original theme song, "We are ProStars", was an homage to the song "We Will Rock YouWe Will Rock You
"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded and performed by Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. Rolling Stone ranked it #330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and the RIAA placed it at #146 on its list of Songs of the Century...
", by the rock group, Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
(see links below). In later episodes, the song was slowed down, and the chorus was reduced to 'ProStars! Show staaaars! The lyrics also reference the "Bo Knows
Bo Knows
"Bo Knows" was an advertising campaign for Nike cross-training shoes that ran in 1989 and 1990 and featured professional baseball and American football player Bo Jackson....
" ad campaign, including the line "Bo knows everything."
Characters
Each character on ProStars has one stand-out character trait, especially the ProStars themselves:- Michael JordanMichael JordanMichael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
(voiced by Dorian HarewoodDorian HarewoodW. Dorian Harewood is an American actor. He first garnered attention for his portrayal of Simon Haley in the ABC miniseries Roots: The Next Generations.-Career:...
): He is the leader of the troupe. He is exceptionally smart and talented with complicated contraptions, and he encourages children to study mathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and the sciences. - Wayne GretzkyWayne GretzkyWayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
(voiced by Townsend ColemanTownsend ColemanTownsend Coleman is an American voice actor who performed in many animated series and TV commercials beginning in the early 1980s...
): He typically plays the role of comic relief. Inexplicably, his mind is always on food. - Bo JacksonBo JacksonVincent Edward "Bo" Jackson is a former American baseball and football player. He was the first athlete to be named an All-Star in two major American sports, and also won the Heisman Trophy in 1985....
(voiced by Dave FennoyDave FennoyDave Fennoy is a voice actor. He is also known as David Fennoy, Dave Fenoy, and David Fenoy.-Animation:* Ben 10 - Tetrax Shard* Ben 10: Alien Force - Tetrax Shard* Captain Planet and the Planeteers - Additional Voices...
): He provides the proverbial "muscle" for the heroes. He is immensely strong, and has a bit of a mean streak. His strength often approaches superhumanSuperhumanSuperhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...
levels, such as in the series opening, when he uses a gigantic tree trunk like a club against a logging robot. - Mom (voiced by Susan SiloSusan SiloSusan Silo is an American actress and voice actress.-Early life and career:She was born in New York City, New York. Her acting career started in television on an episode of The Jack Benny Show. Silo also co-starred with Larry Blyden, Dawn Nickerson, and Diahn Williams in the NBC sitcom Harry's...
): A quasi-Yiddish and Jewish mother stereotype, she is the QQ (James Bond)Q is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. Q , like M, is a job title rather than a name. He is the head of Q Branch , the fictional research and development division of the British Secret Service...
to the ProStars' James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
. She constantly invents wacky gadgets loosely based on sports equipment for the heroes to use. The ProStars spend all their free time in Mom's Gym, and possibly live there as well. It also serves as the ProStars' "headquarters". - Denise (voiced by Diana BarrowsDiana BarrowsDiana Barrows is an American film and television actress, singer and a dancer.-Filmography:*Naked Killer - Charlotte*Does God Exist? - Burton's wife*Un homme - Margaret...
): She is an attractive young apprentice to Mom. She wants to help the ProStars, yet she rarely makes an impact. - The Neighbor: He is a hapless man who wears glasses and happens to live in the same neighborhood as the ProStars' headquarters. By sheer misfortune, he happens to fall victim to the malfunctions of the ProStars' machines, such as when he is buried in snow after their climate machine goes awry. In another episode, he takes a vacation to the HimalayasHimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, and he enjoys the isolation and confidence that he is far away from any mishaps the ProStars could unleash, only to find the ProStars are also in the area stopping a villain there.
Villains
In nearly every episode the ProStars would get a message by teleconferenceTeleconference
A teleconference or teleseminar is the live exchange and mass articulation of information among several persons and machines remote from one another but linked by a telecommunications system...
from a child explaining the situation, such as a little boy from an island in the South Seas who said his village's treasures were being stolen by Short John Silver. Most of the villains were standard cartoon fare and had often done villainous acts akin to cartoons of the early 1990s (such as Captain Planet
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Captain Planet is the title character of the series. In the beginning of the series, Gaia assembles a modern-day team of "Planeteers" from several nations...
and Free Willy
Free Willy (TV series)
For the 1954-1955 CBS situation comedy starring June Havoc, see Willy.Free Willy is an animated television series, inspired by the 1993 film of the same name....
), namely environmental irresponsibility such as strip mining, coastal pollution, or deforestation of the rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
.
Other times a villain might hold a child for ransom, such as a mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
named Dr. Lobe who demanded the ProStars play his line of robot athletes in order to release a little girl he kidnapped. Episodes also touched upon kids in gangs, where an Australian village is being held captive by Gargantus' motorcycle gang and a little girl's brother joins the gang thinking they are macho to which Michael Jordan tells the little girl she cannot stop having faith or love in her brother. One episode dealt with the larceny
Larceny
Larceny is a crime involving the wrongful acquisition of the personal property of another person. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of England into their own law. It has been abolished in England and Wales,...
of the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
committed by Clockwork Delaronge (which is a personal issue for Wayne Gretzky as his name is carved on it four times) and he tells kids of the history and prestige of the award.
Episodes
- The Slugger Returns - The ProStars come to the aid of Jimmy Hanks when his father "Slugger" Hanks is captured by a scientist named Clockwork Delaronge who is using remote-controlled robots including one of dead baseball star Cleets Robinson as part of a plot to capture the Commissioner of Baseball.
- Short John's Revenge - A supervillain named Short John Silver sails into an idyllic Caribbean Island, imprisons the inhabitants, and steals the ancient pirate treasure they had discovered.
- The Perbots of Dr. Lobe - Dr. Lobe proposes a competition to the ProStars to compete against his Perbots for the fate of a girl named Jill.
- Knightmare Riders - The ProStars travel to Scotland to save a community from some ghostly knights.
- Valley of the Snow Falcon - Ice Mancuso, an unscrupulous engineer, intends to conceal diamond masks at a mysterious kingdom in the Himalayas. With the help of a young princess and a mysterious Snow Falcon, the ProStars jump into action to save the kingdom.
- Brazil Nuts - Captain Nemo Ipanema is destroying the Brazilian rainforest as a side to his mining operation designed to secure the world's supply of Amazonite for his own egomaniacal use.
- Block Busters - Paulie Sludger, a corrupt businessman, frightens a block center population, with the intent of purchasing the neighborhood for his toxic waste dumping operation.
- Gargantus and the Highway of Doom - A girl named Sheila calls the ProStars to Australia when Gargantus and his motorcycle gang are terrorizing an Australian village and forcing the inhabitants to build his castle. The worst part of it is that her brother Keith has joined up with Gargantus.
- Rustler's Rodeo - Dusty Boots intends to win the prize money for a rodeo contest and pay off the debt owed by his family so that he can buy back the family ranch. But a gangster who intends to buyout the ranch for himself has complicated matters by kidnapping Dusty's horse.
- Roll to Victory - When a local basketball charity is at risk of being closed down due to cheap shot tactics by the Pontiac Hoods, it's up to the ProStars to stop them.
- A Bite of the Big Apple - The ProStars search for an archeologist whose family has not heard from him since he began a dig along the River of No Return.
- Clockwork Catastrophe - Clockwork Delaronge has returned. This time, he has stolen the famous Stanley Cup. It is up to the ProStars to skate into action and get it back.
- The Final Cut - In this episode, Mom challenges the ProStars on their efficiency, prompting them to prove her wrong by showing her their past adventures. Features clips from previous episodes.
Principal cast
- Diana BarrowsDiana BarrowsDiana Barrows is an American film and television actress, singer and a dancer.-Filmography:*Naked Killer - Charlotte*Does God Exist? - Burton's wife*Un homme - Margaret...
- Denise - Townsend ColemanTownsend ColemanTownsend Coleman is an American voice actor who performed in many animated series and TV commercials beginning in the early 1980s...
- Wayne Gretzky - Dave FennoyDave FennoyDave Fennoy is a voice actor. He is also known as David Fennoy, Dave Fenoy, and David Fenoy.-Animation:* Ben 10 - Tetrax Shard* Ben 10: Alien Force - Tetrax Shard* Captain Planet and the Planeteers - Additional Voices...
- Bo Jackson - Dorian HarewoodDorian HarewoodW. Dorian Harewood is an American actor. He first garnered attention for his portrayal of Simon Haley in the ABC miniseries Roots: The Next Generations.-Career:...
- Michael Jordan - Susan SiloSusan SiloSusan Silo is an American actress and voice actress.-Early life and career:She was born in New York City, New York. Her acting career started in television on an episode of The Jack Benny Show. Silo also co-starred with Larry Blyden, Dawn Nickerson, and Diahn Williams in the NBC sitcom Harry's...
- Mom
Additional voices
- Charlie Adler - Froggy
- Marv AlbertMarv AlbertMarv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...
- - Jack AngelJack AngelJack Angel is an American voice actor, who has worked on many children's television series, movies and video games.-Life and career:Angel was born in Modesto, California...
- - William Callaway -
- Brian CummingsBrian CummingsBrian Cummings is an American voice actor.-Biography:He is known for his work in radio and television commercials, television and motion picture promos, cartoons and as the announcer on The All-New Let's Make a Deal from 1984 to 1985...
- - Jim CummingsJim CummingsJames Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...
- - Debi DerryberryDebi DerryberryDebi Derryberry is an American voice actress, singer, composer and kids' entertainer who won an American Anime Award.-History:...
- - Pat FraleyPat FraleyPatrick "Pat" Fraley is an American voice actor, who is best known as the voice of Krang, Casey Jones and numerous other characters from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...
- - Mike FratelloMike FratelloMichael Robert "Mike" Fratello is an American color analyst and a professional basketball coach. He previously coached the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA, and is currently the head coach of the Ukraine national basketball team.-Background:Fratello was born in...
- - Ben Ryan Ganger -
- Ellen GerstellEllen Gerstell-Voice roles:*Jem *Monchhichis *Dragon's Lair - Princess Daphne *My Little Pony: The Movie *Little Clowns of Happytown *My Little Pony TV series...
- - Dan GilvezanDan GilvezanDan Gilvezan is an actor who provided the voice for Peter Parker/Spider-Man on the 1980s animated series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends and the voice of the Autobots Bumblebee, Outback and Hot Spot and the Decepticon Snapdragon in the original 1984-1987 Transformers cartoon...
- - Edan GrossEdan GrossEdan Gross is a former child actor. He appeared in many guest spots on many popular television programs in the 1980s and 1990s including Cheers, Murphy Brown, The Golden Girls, Empty Nest, Newhart, Highway to Heaven, Married… with Children, Northern Exposure, and Herman's Head...
- - Whitby Hertford -
- Dana HillDana HillDana Hill was an American actress and voice actor with a raspy voice and childlike appearance, which allowed her to play adolescent roles into her 30s...
- Keith - Jerry HouserJerry HouserJerry Houser is an American character actor and voice actor in film and television.-Career:Houser was born in Los Angeles, California. Since 1971, he has appeared in countless films, TV series, animated series, and commercials...
- - Robert ItoRobert ItoRobert Ito is a Canadian voice, television, and movie actor of Japanese decent.A Canadian actor of Japanese descent, Ito was, for many years, a dancer with the National Ballet of Canada before turning to acting in the mid-1960s...
- - Richard Karron -
- Art Kimbro -
- David LanderDavid LanderDavid L. Lander is an American actor, comedian, composer, musician, and baseball scout. David is also the Goodwill Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.- Biography :...
- - Katie LeighKatie LeighKatherine "Katie" Leigh is an American voice actress best known for her role as Connie Kendall on the Focus on the Family radio program Adventures in Odyssey since 1987...
- - Sherry LynnSherry LynnSherry Lynn is a veteran American voice actress, known for young girl roles in animation and video games. She is represented by Arlene Thornton & Associates...
- - Tress MacNeilleTress MacNeilleTress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Disney's House of Mouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Dave the...
- - Candi MiloCandi MiloCandi Milo is an American voice actress and singer. She voiced many different animated characters such as the voice of Jacobo on Disney's The Replacements, Coco, Madame Foster and Cheese on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Irma Lair on Disney's W.I.T.C.H., lead character Maya Santos on Maya &...
- - Robert MorseRobert MorseRobert Morse is an American actor and singer. Morse is best known for his appearances in musicals and plays on Broadway. He has also acted in movies and television shows. His best known role is that of J. Pierrepont Finch in the 1961 Broadway musical, and 1967 film How to Succeed in Business...
- - Rob PaulsenRob PaulsenRobert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...
- - Hal RayleHal RayleHal Rayle is an American voice actor. He has done many roles for both animated series and live action movies.-Career:Rayle has had a number of voice acting jobs over his career. Rayle's animated series roles include Lieutenant Commander Steele in SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, Pipes, Snarl and...
- - Neil RossNeil RossTheodoric Neilson "Neil" Ross is an English voice actor and announcer, born in London, England and now resident and working in Los Angeles, in the United States. He has provided voices for in many American cartoons, particularly those based on Hasbro products and Marvel Comics, and numerous...
- - Ron RubinRon RubinRon Rubin is the name of:*Ron Rubin , Canadian voice actor known for Artemis in Sailor Moon*Ron Rubin , American bridge player...
- - Justin ShenkarowJustin ShenkarowJustin Moran Shenkarow is an American actor best known for his roles of Matthew Brock in Picket Fences, Simon Holmes in Eerie, Indiana, and the voice of Harold Berman on Hey Arnold!.-Life and career:...
- - R.J. WilliamsR. J. WilliamsR. J. Williams or Robert Jackson Williams is an actor, television host, and producer but is best known as the Founder and CEO of Young Hollywood LLC-Acting:...
-
Crew
- Marsha Goodman - Casting
- Ginny McSwainGinny McSwainGinny McSwain is a voice actor, voice casting director, and animation production professional from Los Angeles, CA.McSwain graduated from Stephens College in 1974, before moving to Los Angeles...
- Voice Director - Cary Silver - Talent Coordinator